


Misdirection

by Engineer104



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Camping, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, SO MUCH FLUFF, Sort Of, Stargazing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-22
Updated: 2018-01-22
Packaged: 2019-03-03 10:59:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13339848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Engineer104/pseuds/Engineer104
Summary: Lance pays attention, and Pidge just may come to enjoy a camping trip.





	Misdirection

**Author's Note:**

> All fic is self-indulgent
> 
> Guaranteed smiles or your money (but not your time) back!!

With the setting sun behind them, Pidge pushed her sunglasses up onto her head and looked outside the passenger window. On this side of the road, and the other, were dry desert shrubs, cacti, and the odd Joshua tree. No living animal could be seen, and brown scrubby mountains broke the horizon and disrupted the monotony of the landscape. And Pidge could not, for the life of her, guess their destination.

“Death Valley?” she tried, not for the first time, without glancing over at Lance.

“Nope!” he said brightly, lips smacking on the ‘p’.

“Would you even confirm if I _did_ guess correctly?” Pidge wondered. She propped her elbow against the door and rested her chin in the palm of her hand; her other hand rested on her thigh, fingers drumming a silent rhythm on her pants. She’d dressed a little nicer than usual, since Lance refused to tell her where he planned to take her for the weekend, in khaki slacks and a blouse with a floral pattern. She wore her good black flats too, which she now started to regret since there seemed an excellent chance they’d get scuffed up and dusty out in the desert.

“Maybe, Pidge,” Lance told her. “You never know.” He turned off the radio – some Top 40 station he found entirely by accident but now filled with static as they drove further – and switched on his phone, connected to the stereo with an auxiliary cord. Something older but undoubtedly catchy came on, and Lance hummed along with the tune.

Pidge finally looked at him, and he smiled when their eyes met briefly before he faced the road again. “Are we spending the night wherever we’re going?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at him. “Because you didn’t even tell me to pack any other clothes or a toothbrush.”

Lance smiled, fingers tap-tap-tapping with the beat of the music on the steering wheel. “Worry not, Pidge,” he said. “I already took care of everything.”

Pidge snorted but didn’t question him. Still, as they drew closer to their destination – whatever it was – her imagination went wild, trying to determine what sort of _surprise_ Lance planned. “You’re not going to murder me and bury my body in the desert, right?” she joked.

“Oh no, you caught me,” he said, hamming it up by pressing a hand against his chest. “Guess I have to pull over and do the deed now!” He swerved the car towards the shoulder.

Pidge grabbed the handhold attached to the car’s ceiling just above her door as her body jerked with the car, and though she giggled with amusement, she couldn’t help yelling, “ _Lance!_ ”

Lance straightened the car with a smirk. “See?” he said. “I can’t possibly be planning to murder you, because I just saved your life.”

“After endangering it by _swerving_ ,” Pidge pointed out. She tugged on her seatbelt, loosening it a bit since it locked up when Lance pulled his stunt, and rested her hands in her lap. “Seriously, Lance, what _are_ we doing out here?”

“Why don’t you read that sign coming up and find out?”

Pidge rolled her eyes but did as he asked, peering out the window at a brown street sign that declared that the Joshua Tree National Park entrance was in seventeen miles. Her head spun around so fast she almost made herself dizzy, and she said, “I don’t like camping.”

“Who said anything about camping?” Lance said with a raised eyebrow. When she only continued to stare at him incredulously he sighed and confessed, “Fine, I’ve got a tent in the trunk, but I promise I brought an air mattress instead of sleeping bags. _And_ it’s the desert, so no bugs!”

Pidge crossed her arms and grumbled, “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“I _promise_ you’ll like – even _love_ – what I have planned,” Lance reassured her, though his brow furrowed in obvious worry. So when he reached across the narrow gap between their seats and took her hand and squeezed, she squeezed back.

“Honestly, I’m actually impressed you got a campsite during August,” Pidge said.

“Well…”

Pidge narrowed her eyes at him, suddenly suspicious when he withdrew his hand from hers to scratch his chin. “How long _have_ you been planning this?”

Lance coughed. “Since…April, maybe?”

“Why April?”

“Your birthday…”

Pidge filled in some of the gaps from his reluctant silence, remembering that they went to Griffith Observatory the weekend after her birthday, along with Hunk. That monstrous hill was the only one she’d ever willingly hiked, just because their objective made it worthwhile.

* * *

_“I love it here,” Pidge said shortly before they left, after touring the exhibit of the planets downstairs. “There’s really only one thing about it that sucks.”_

_“What’s that?” Lance asked, peering over at her from where he leaned against the railing, his back to the exhibit that Pidge scanned so attentively._

_“It’s an observatory,” Pidge explained, “but the only star you can observe is the sun because of all the light pollution.” She sighed wistfully. “I haven’t been stargazing in so long, but we haven’t had the time or the opportunity to go out into the desert for it in a while…”_

* * *

“Oh,” Pidge said lamely, but her face warmed, and she covered it to hide an embarrassed, _pleased_ smile, a familiar flutter in her abdomen. _Together for two years, and he_ still _has this effect on me?_

“Don’t feel so bad about camping now, do you?” Lance wondered, tone snide.

“The jury’s still out on that,” Pidge said, half-teasing and half-serious. She stretched her arms over her head before pulling her feet up onto the seat. “Let’s see what else you have in mind _before_ I decide if the camping is worth it.”

Lance grinned. “Oh, my dear, darling Pidge,” he said. “This is just the beginning.”

* * *

They reached the park entrance a mere five minutes before the gate closed, and the attendant shot them a dirty look as Lance rolled down his window and paid the fee. “Thank you, kind sir,” Lance said with a sheepish smile as he handed the receipt to Pidge, who taped it to the corner of the windshield.

Lance also handed her the map as they entered the park, into desert that looked just like the desert _outside_. Pidge turned the car’s interior light on and opened the map, scanning it for the camping ground that Lance mentioned.

“Turn…right,” she told him. “There’s probably a sign at the fork.”

“Oh, yeah, there it is,” he said, pointing out the window towards a sign that indicated what direction different landmarks within the parks were.

Within a mile, the road became dirt, Lance’s car shaking as they passed over it, and the sky outside darkened to a deep navy while the sun set behind the mountains in the west. The moon was little more than a thin, silvery white arch peeking up over the horizon, which made for ideal stargazing conditions…provided other light sources were dampened.

“Oh, that’s the reservation office?” Lance said, squinting out the window.

Pidge turned the cabin light off and followed his gaze. “Looks like it?”

Lance parked the car in front of the building. “Wait here,” he said. He shut off the car’s engine and opened the door, walking inside to claim their reservation.

Pidge folded the map while she waited for him. She pulled her sunglasses off her head, wincing when they tugged at strands of her hair, and tucked them into her purse. She looked over her shoulder into the backseat, but nothing that wasn’t there when they left her parents’ house earlier had magically appeared since Lance admitted they would be camping.

Well, Pidge supposed a campsite would at least have bathrooms.

When Lance returned, she even quipped, “You know, I’m surprised that _you_ can stand camping.”

“And why’s that?” Lance wondered once he’d pulled back onto the dirt road and drove them towards their campsite. She could barely see the road ahead of her, even with the headlights on, and was glad she wasn’t the one driving.

“You’re kind of high maintenance,” Pidge pointed out. “I mean, your skincare routine is _pretty_ extensive, Lance.”

Lance rolled his eyes. “Please, Pidge, I can rough it.” Quieter, he added, “At least for a couple nights.”

“A _couple nights_?”

“What?” Lance said, glancing sideways at her. “Are you _really_ trying to tell me you don’t want to spend three days and two nights alone with me?”

“Not out in the desert, far away from Wi-fi.” Pidge crossed her arms.

“ _For shame_ , Pidge,” Lance said with false indignation. “ _I_ am your _boyfriend_!”

Pidge smirked at him. “And yet, you take me camping even though you know I hate it.”

“Pidge, I _promise_ you won’t regret the weekend, okay?” Now, he actually sounded worried rather than teasing, likely fearful she wouldn’t like whatever he must’ve planned with meticulous detail if he’d laid the groundwork as early as four months ago.

Lance parked the car at the corner of a campsite that lay surprisingly – and impressively – distant from any others. In fact, the only obvious light source besides the car’s was the stars themselves.

For a moment they captivated Pidge’s attention, her eyes scanning them for the constellations she recognized, for Ursa Major and the Summer Triangle and Taurus. But then she turned to Lance, noting the disappointment on his face, and leaned across the gap between them to kiss his cheek.

“Who knows?” she told him without pulling too far away. “You might convince me that camping isn’t so bad after all.”

Lance grinned as he faced her, catching her face with his hands so that she felt his warm breath bloom against her skin. “If I have anything to say about it—”

“Way too much, I’m sure.”

“—we’ll remember this night for the rest of our lives.”

Pidge narrowed her eyes at him. “You didn’t bring me here to tell me that you’re pregnant, did you?”

Lance’s eyes widened with surprise, and he dropped her face as he laughed. “Yes, that’s _exactly_ why we’re here,” he gasped, breathless with mirth.

She chuckled, taken aback by the strength of his reaction. “Well, it’s either that or a marriage proposal, because having sex wouldn’t exactly be a milestone for us any—” She cut herself off when she noticed Lance’s abrupt silence and the way he stared at her incredulously. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he said with a quick grin. “Now, are we going to sit in the car all night or set up a tent?”

“Uh…let’s set up the tent,” Pidge said, but Lance was already stepping out of the car by the time she finished speaking, leaving her wondering if she’d said anything wrong.

For now she put it out of her mind; Lance would tell her if that was the case…hopefully. Instead she joined him outside and at the back, where he’d already opened the trunk and started unloading.

“You plan dinner too?” she asked after he lit a flashlight. She held a hand up to shield her eyes when he shined it up, squinting against the sudden brightness. “ _Ass_ ,” she grumbled.

Lance chuckled and angled the light away from her, leading the way towards the actual site of clear earth where they could pitch a tent. In the spreading light of the flashlight, a picnic table appeared to the left of the site along with a grill.

Lance handed her the flashlight, and he dropped the bag he had slung over his shoulder. “Should be a piece of cake,” he said. He opened the drawstring bag and took out a piece of paper with instructions.

Pidge shined the light at it, skimming the pictographic instructions, and said, “Did you bring a hammer?”

“Of c-of course I brought a hammer, Pidge!” Lance screeched indignantly. When she only raised an eyebrow at him in response, he ducked his head and admitted, “I forgot a hammer.”

“I’m sure there’s something heavy you can use as a substitute?” Pidge suggested.

“Yeah, I’ll use my shoe,” Lance said. He knelt and took off one of his shoes while Pidge stared incredulously.

To be fair, the shoes he wore looked quite sturdy, so maybe it would be good enough…and it was, she realized as he hammered the first pick down with the shoe.

Pidge rolled her eyes at him, still busy figuring out the tent’s metal frame, but grinning in satisfaction when it stood upright, now only needing Lance to hammer the picks into the soil. Her gaze drifted up to the velvety black blanket of stars overhead, but her eyes widened when a white light streaked across the sky.

“Lance!” she yelled.

“Ow!” he exclaimed, startled by her call. “What happened?” She heard his footsteps approach her quickly.

Pidge didn’t look at him, intent on spotting something _else_ , and only said, “I saw a shooting star.”

“Oh, really?”

Pidge glanced at Lance, surprised by his nonchalant tone. “What? Why are you—” And then she remembered the time of year.

Pidge flung her arms around Lance’s neck, causing him to stumble backwards as he caught her against him, his arms around her waist. “You-you _sly_ —”

“I know, I know, I’m the best,” Lance said, a hand moving up and down her back. “Don’t worry, if you want to say it no one’s around to hear you.”

“Oh, you would just _love_ to hear _me_ say it, wouldn’t you?” she hissed into his ear.

“Oh, absolutely,” Lance said shamelessly. When she pulled back so she could look him in the eye, raising an eyebrow at him, he smiled, his eyes soft. “But I love you enough to respect that you don’t want to stroke my ego right now.”

“Well I love you enough to do it anyway,” Pidge said. She tugged his head down, and they kissed.

Too briefly, Pidge might’ve said if they weren’t out in the desert, far from any light pollution except for what they produced themselves, during the peak of the Perseids, the most spectacular meteor shower that Earth viewed all year.

“All right, enough kissing,” she said, pulling away from him and turning to face the appropriate direction. As she looked, another shooting star, a little dimmer than the first, ran its course through the sky.

“Well, guess I’ll get our dinner from the trunk,” Lance said, his footsteps fading.

The car’s lights came on, making Pidge scowl involuntarily since they interfered with the view, but within another minute Lance stood beside her again. He tapped her shoulder, catching her attention, and he said, “I brought a blanket to lie down on.”

Pidge sat on the provided blanket, something soft that didn’t provide enough cushioning to keep her from feeling every single pebble underneath it. Lance passed her something wrapped in plastic, and he admitted, “I, uh, only brought sandwiches for tonight, but I borrowed Keith’s camp stove so we can make something fresh tomorrow.”

Pidge unwrapped the sandwich – peanut butter and blackberry jam – and bit into it. She smiled at the sweetness and leaned against Lance’s side while she ate. “This is perfect as is,” she said.

Lance munched on his own sandwich – roast beef, Pidge guessed, or something meatier than hers – and they sat in silence for a while, watching the sky. It was still early in the evening – at least a few hours before the true peak of the meteor shower – so a spot of light shot across the sky only every ten minutes or so.

Pidge started fidgeting, impatient, after she finished her sandwich, but she settled a bit when Lance wrapped an arm around her. He ate slower than she had, and then he asked, “So everything’s good so far?”

“I just told you it’s _perfect_ ,” Pidge retorted. She leaned her head back to peer up at his face – and up his nose, rather unintentionally – and said, “With a view like this, I can forgive the camping.”

Lance crumpled the plastic wrapping his sandwich and set it on the corner of the blanket to toss later. He pressed a kiss to her forehead – making her smile a little wider – and muttered, “I’m glad.”

They lay down for a better view of the night sky as the meteor shower picked up. Pidge rested her head on Lance’s shoulder, his arm tugging her closer into something of a cuddle. Her hands found purchase in his, but the heavens grabbed her attention more than the earth with the spectacular show they put on just for her – or just for _them_.

“I’ve always wanted to see the Perseids at their peak,” she said quietly, the atmosphere demanding soft voices. “We always tried to make plans, but then the peak would fall on a weeknight, or would be during a full moon, or my dad would be traveling.” She stretched their joined hands up, as if to catch a meteor between them as it fell. Then she turned her head to look at him, eyes widening slightly when their eyes met. “How did you know?”

“You mentioned them once,” Lance said, shrugging.

“I…did?” Pidge blinked, struggling to recall.

* * *

_Pidge dropped her books on the table, startling Lance and Hunk into jumping and staring up at her as she sat down in the seat across from them in a huff._

_“What’s wrong, Pidge?” Hunk hazarded while she fumed._

_Pidge grabbed a book at random and flipped through it, almost tearing a page out in her irritation…at least until she noticed she had it upside down. She sighed, fighting to rein in her temper, turned the book around, and tapped her fingers against the pages._

_“My brother promised he’d take me into the desert to watch the meteor shower this week before I have more material to study,” Pidge told them, “but some urgent work thing came up and he’ll have to be at work early the next day. So he had to cancel.”_

_“I’m sorry, Pidge,” Hunk said, patting her arm. “I’m sure he hates that he had to cancel.”_

_“I know,” Pidge said, but she dropped her forehead onto the book and grumbled, “But I’ve always wanted to go, and I’d never gotten the chance before, so I thought maybe this year,_ finally _, but I guess not…”_

_“There’s next year, right?” Lance asked, his foot connecting with hers under the table and making her heart do some funny gymnastics._

_Pidge glanced up at them, gaze flitting from Hunk to Lance, and she agreed, “Yeah, I guess there’s next year.”_

* * *

“Lance, I can’t believe you remembered that,” Pidge said incredulously. “How long ago _was_ that? Four years ago? It makes me think I don’t pay enough attention to you.”

Lance snorted and said, “I could always do with more attention from you, Pidge.”

Pidge rolled her eyes. “What was I thinking?” she said, facetious. “You’re too biased to comment on that.”

Lance chuckled, his chest rumbling pleasantly against her body, and wrapped both arms around her, tugging her closer so that her head nestled under his chin and they faced each other.

Pidge pushed him away. “You can have me any other night but tonight,” she said, lying on her back again so she could watch the sky instead.

“Oh, I set this up months in advance and this is the thanks I get?” Lance whined.

Pidge snickered, but she sat up and leaned over him. “I love you, darling,” she said, and she kissed his nose.

Lance exhaled in a huff, his breath warm on her face as she pulled away. With him staring up at her, a fond smile on his face, Pidge was so tempted to kiss him on the lips this time, but the meteor shower still demanded her attention, and she thought that if she initiated a kiss now it would be a long time until they stopped.

Instead she used his chest as a pillow, the steady beat of his heart beneath her head with the stars spread out above. Lance laced their fingers together and said, “I can see why you wanted to see this so badly.”

Another shooting star appeared, bright as a white flare, and when its light faded Pidge squeezed Lance’s hand. “Guess I’ll have to thank Matt for cancelling on me before then.”

Lance’s free hand played with her hair, nails scraping her scalp before drawing back out. Pidge thought she could fall asleep like this, comfortable as she was, with his heartbeat in her ear and his fingers stroking her hair. But the perfect view overhead kept her awake, even when her eyelids drooped and Lance’s comments came less frequently.

When the meteors were fewer and further between, in the hours between midnight and dawn, Lance tapped her shoulder. “I’m going to set up the air mattress,” he warned her.

“Have fun,” she said, sitting up and lazily patting his arm.

Lance snorted and stood, his silhouette fading as he walked further from her and closer to the car. Distantly she could hear the trunk opening then slamming shut, his footsteps alerting her to his return. Behind her he grumbled to himself, trying to figure out the pump without turning on the flashlight.

Pidge considered for a minute before she got up and went to help him, but he glanced up just as she approached and waved his hands, shaking his head frantically. “What?” she said. “You don’t need my help?”

“I can do it!” Lance told her. “I just…mind if I turn on the flashlight?”

Pidge raised an eyebrow at him, surprised by his vehement denial, but she was tired enough – eyes itchy and limbs dragging – that she didn’t question it. “Uh, sure,” she said.

Lance clicked the flashlight on and set it on the ground so it shone on the small pump and the unfolded, flattened mattress. He waved her back towards the blanket and said, “I got this, Pidge. I’ll be back soon, so you don’t have to miss me for too long.” He winked at her.

Pidge rolled her eyes, but despite her concern, she left him to his devices. Well, it was unlikely he could cause much damage with a small, battery-powered pump anyway.

The pump ran noisily, disrupting the silence of the night – and hopefully not enough to bring a neighboring camper’s fury down on them. A gentle breeze stirred her hair, and Pidge rubbed her arms at the sudden chill. As unexpected as this _excursion_ of theirs was, she hadn’t brought a jacket – and she rarely needed one in summertime anyway – for after sunset, when the desert cooled. So she stood up and headed back to the car, hoping Lance wouldn’t mind if she borrowed the one she knew he always stored in his backseat.

The pump shut off, and in the ensuing, startling silence, she heard, “…no, _shh_ , she’ll hear you!”

Pidge turned her head towards Lance’s voice, unexpected as it was. She could see his outline by the light of the flashlight, but as she watched he turned it off.

“Not yet,” he hissed in a tone he obviously meant to be quiet but that still managed to carry. “Yeah, I—”

“Who’re you talking to this late?” Pidge wondered. “Or maybe I should say _this early_ …” She giggled at her own joke, but then took in Lance’s near-horrified expression as he gaped at her. “What? Are you okay, Lance?”

“Yeah, everything’s great!” Lance said, waving the hand that didn’t hold his phone to his face. “I-Hunk, I’ll talk to you tomorrow! Signal’s pretty bad out here, and I’m surprised your call even came through! ‘Night!” He hung up, slipping his phone into his pocket, and looked at Pidge. “Hunk called me about…he couldn’t find our HDMI cable.”

Pidge raised an eyebrow at him. “Your HDMI cable?” she echoed skeptically.

“Yeah!” Lance scratched his chin and smiled at her. “I told him it was in my room, borrowed it last time you and I watched a movie on the big screen, yeah?” He elbowed her in the side.

“Yeah… Are you _sure_ you’re okay, Lance? You’re a bit…”

“Tired? Yes, are you ready to go to sleep, Pidge?”

Pidge blinked at him. “I…guess. But what the—”

“Look, if you want, I already shoved the mattress into the tent and dropped a couple pillows on it, so I’ll go get a few blankets and some other stuff from the trunk, and then we can fall asleep cuddling like I know you secretly like to?” He grinned at her, but before she could retort that she wasn’t _that_ secretive about it, he’d stepped past her, long strides quickly taking him back to the car.

“What…the hell?” she muttered, watching him go before turning to the tent.

Though it looked _fairly_ spacious – at least for a tent – on the outside, the air mattress, despite being thin and smaller than a double bed – oh, yes, they would definitely cuddle – occupied most of the space, which she mostly found by feeling it out with her feet. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone, turning on its flash, and located the pillows that Lance mentioned, along with a blanket.

Pidge stared at the arrangement, noting that there wasn’t even anything for her to do until Lance brought the rest of their stuff, but before she could exit the tent and find him, he called softly from outside, “Hey, Pidge, I found something that I think will interest you.”

Pidge turned to the tent’s zipper with her arms crossed; there was something _off_ about Lance’s tone, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. Had Hunk’s call – was Hunk even the one that called him? – rattled him _that_ much? Over an _HDMI cable_?

With a sigh, Pidge ducked down and stepped out of the tent, but her jaw dropped when she spotted Lance. “What…the hell?”

“Uh…” Lance said, quite eloquently, from where he knelt on the ground with a tiny box in his hand.

Pidge’s phone slipped out of her hand and landed on the hard ground next to her feet, but she barely heard the soft _thunk_ as she took another slow step towards Lance. Her heart pounded as she stared at him, her palms sweating, but her thoughts were…calm, quiet, _peaceful_.

“Pidge,” Lance said, his voice cracking on the single syllable. He raised a hand, smiling sheepishly, and cleared his throat. “Pidge, I know you don’t really like, uh, romantic gestures as much as I do, but—”

“Yes,” Pidge mumbled.

He plowed on as if he hadn’t heard her, as quietly as she’d spoken, “—I still wanted this moment to be memorable, especially since we talked about _this_ too a few months ago, and—”

“ _Yes_ ,” Pidge insisted.

“I planned a speech too!” Lance grumbled. “Can you please be patient?”

Pidge crossed her arms and frowned. “Fine,” she said.

“ _Thank_ you. Anyway, Pidge, you’re the love of my life, and I think I’ve known that since the first time we kissed, so will you marry me?”

Pidge knelt in front of him, putting them closer to eye level; she didn’t even mind the hard ground digging into her knees as she smiled and took his hands, warm and just as damp as hers. “What do you think, Lance?”

He quirked an eyebrow at her, though he smiled hopefully. “Sometimes I really don’t know what to think with you,” he admitted.

Pidge laughed. “Yes,” she said. She sniffed and reached up to wipe away tears she would’ve never expected in a moment like this. Her chest was warm, her heart full and her stomach fluttering, as Lance slipped a slender ring onto her left ring finger.

She didn’t bother examining it yet, instead grabbing Lance by the front of his shirt and kissing him. Distantly she heard the box that contained the ring tumbling to the ground as Lance responded with enthusiasm, his hands cupping her face and tilting her head up.

They parted then, both breathless and smiling as Lance touched his forehead to hers, hands warm on her cheeks as he wiped her surprised, happy tears with his thumbs. Pidge gripped his wrists, turning her head just enough to kiss the palm of his hand.

“I can’t believe you fooled me into thinking you brought me out here just for a meteor shower,” she said.

“I can’t believe you fell for it,” Lance said. He dropped a quick kiss on her forehead.

Pidge giggled. “Anyway, you were right, I think.”

“Hmm, about what?”

“About this being memorable.” She interlaced her fingers against the back of his neck, thumbs playing with the ends of his soft hairs, and before she pulled him in again, alert and eager despite how late – or _early_ – it was, she said, “I guess camping’s not so bad after all.”

* * *

_“Hey, Pidge?”_

_Pidge opened her eyes to see Lance propped up on his elbow and looking down at her. He frowned very slightly, a wrinkle on his brow, and that was enough to shoo away most of her exhaustion. “Yeah, Lance?”_

_“Have you ever thought about…getting married?” Lance asked._

_Pidge covered her mouth as a yawn split her face, but then she squinted up at him. “Getting married in general, or getting married to you?”_

_Lance flushed and smiled sheepishly as he waved a dismissive hand. “Either,” he said, “but mostly to me, I guess.”_

_“You_ guess _?”_

_“So…?”_

_Pidge sighed and rolled onto her side so she faced him. She wrapped her arms around his torso and pressed her forehead against his bare chest. “Can’t we talk about this in the morning?”_

_“If you want,” Lance said, and even though she could hear the disappointment in his voice, he still returned her embrace, his lips buried in her hair._

_His breathing and heartbeat slowed within minutes, but despite her sleepiness she couldn’t follow him into dreams. Her thoughts buzzed, his question reverberating around her brain._

_Would she get married? Once, she didn’t think she would._

_Would she marry_ Lance _? Oh, and_ that _was a fun question._

_Pidge turned around, carefully so she wouldn’t wake Lance, and reached for the notebook on the bedside table. Then after locating a pen – it had fallen under the bed – she opened the notebook, tore out a page as quietly as she could, and wrote:_

Would I get married in general? Probably not, but to you? Well, you know I hate uncertainty, and I like to have all the facts in front of me before making any decision. Can you tell me now when we’d get married? And of course, we’re both in college now, and I know we’re graduating soon, but we’ll have to get jobs. Is there a guarantee they’ll be close to each other? And why should either of our careers be more important than the other’s? And if that all works out fine, do we move in together?

Suppose we _do_ get married. What comes next? We haven’t talked about children yet, but you love them. Do we both want them? And what about work when we have them? Whose parents would we visit for holidays if we live far away from both of ours?

I don’t know the answers to all those questions, but you only asked me one, and the answer to that, I now realize, is that even if some things don’t work out the way you or I will want them to, then that’s fine. So yes, I would marry you, Lance, because I love you.

_Pidge folded the torn page and wrote Lance’s name on the outside, then she capped the pen and put it, the notebook, and the note of her thought process on the nightstand. Satisfied, she settled back into bed, and back into Lance’s arms. He mumbled something in his sleep, his breathing hitched, but he didn’t stir and only tugged her closer._

_Pidge smiled, sinking into the warmth of his embrace as sleep took her._

**Author's Note:**

> i love and appreciate all comments <3


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